Finster possesses the remnant. If Finster did have the other piece, why wasn’t he casting with both for greater power? Why was only one piece in the bag Irenee brought back? I think someone else has the greater section, and Finster knows who.”
Mary Ann, the team’s healer, spoke up. “We’re all aware destruction of an item harms its possessor. For those of you who have only dealt with much weaker items, let me point out demolition can physically damage brain cells or the magic center. Destroying the stronger ones can trigger various psychoses and cause a total breakdown. Doing the same for the ancient monsters can kill. After what we all went through, Finster has to be in much worse shape. He may not be able to tell us anything, now or ever.”
“I’ll send someone over to Finster’s to see what they can find out. Would anyone like to estimate where the other remnant is?” Fergus asked.
“I think it’s somewhere close to Finster,” Irenee’s father said. “I’m willing to bet he’s had the thing for a number of years because of the magnitude of his criminal activities. You don’t build a sizeable organization in a day. Neither do you create it without a lot of power. Those actions imply, if not a whole Stone, certainly pieces of it working together and/or a partner. And another question, was this accomplice on the other end of the line, so to speak, casting at us during destruction?”
“I agree with your points, but I don’t think there was a human looking through that black flame at us. I’ve been in a similar position, and there’s a different feeling entirely,” John said.
“If Finster and another person have been casting over years, especially close by, they must be in an extremely secure environment, or I’d have picked it up,” Glynnis said.
“Looks like we have some investigating to do. Glynnis, you put some scholars to researching the Cataclysm Stone. If we’re going after a larger piece, we need to know what we’re doing,” Fergus concluded. “First, we must get rid of the ashes from our most recent project. John, do you have the vials?”
“Yes,” John replied. “I divided the remains into portions so all who participated in the destruction could have one. They’re in the box by the door. Be sure to take one when you leave.”
“As usual,” Fergus said, “please scatter them in many places. The last thing we need is the abomination or even a part of it reconstituting itself. We’ll meet this evening at seven to discuss the situation and make plans to find the remains of this abomination. Okay, anything else before we adjourn?”
Irenee tugged on Fergus’s sleeve, and he bent down to her. “Could you ask our team to stay for a minute? I forgot something I’d rather discuss with them alone. Oh, and Dad can stay, too.”
Irenee fidgeted until her team members were the only ones in the room. During the previous discussion, she’d thought about telling everybody, but the task was somehow too much to take on, exhausted as she was.
“Here’s the thing,” she said when all were settled again. “When I was about to open the safe in Alton’s study, a man picked the lock and came in. He could see right through my invisibility, and he asked why both the safe and I were glowing. I don’t know, however, if the safe radiance was from my discover spell or Alton’s protective ones.”
She related the events without mentioning her more personal reaction to him. What possible importance could it have to the larger problem? “Uncle Dylan said he’d find out who the man was after I left.”
“This guy specifically mentioned seeing a glow from the spells?” her father put in.
“Yes, but he didn’t say a word about magic.”
“What about evil? Was there any taint?” Glynnis asked.
“None I could identify. He certainly didn’t want Alton to know he’d been there, so I’m guessing he’s connected with law enforcement.”
“It would stand to reason,” John
Mary Ann, the team’s healer, spoke up. “We’re all aware destruction of an item harms its possessor. For those of you who have only dealt with much weaker items, let me point out demolition can physically damage brain cells or the magic center. Destroying the stronger ones can trigger various psychoses and cause a total breakdown. Doing the same for the ancient monsters can kill. After what we all went through, Finster has to be in much worse shape. He may not be able to tell us anything, now or ever.”
“I’ll send someone over to Finster’s to see what they can find out. Would anyone like to estimate where the other remnant is?” Fergus asked.
“I think it’s somewhere close to Finster,” Irenee’s father said. “I’m willing to bet he’s had the thing for a number of years because of the magnitude of his criminal activities. You don’t build a sizeable organization in a day. Neither do you create it without a lot of power. Those actions imply, if not a whole Stone, certainly pieces of it working together and/or a partner. And another question, was this accomplice on the other end of the line, so to speak, casting at us during destruction?”
“I agree with your points, but I don’t think there was a human looking through that black flame at us. I’ve been in a similar position, and there’s a different feeling entirely,” John said.
“If Finster and another person have been casting over years, especially close by, they must be in an extremely secure environment, or I’d have picked it up,” Glynnis said.
“Looks like we have some investigating to do. Glynnis, you put some scholars to researching the Cataclysm Stone. If we’re going after a larger piece, we need to know what we’re doing,” Fergus concluded. “First, we must get rid of the ashes from our most recent project. John, do you have the vials?”
“Yes,” John replied. “I divided the remains into portions so all who participated in the destruction could have one. They’re in the box by the door. Be sure to take one when you leave.”
“As usual,” Fergus said, “please scatter them in many places. The last thing we need is the abomination or even a part of it reconstituting itself. We’ll meet this evening at seven to discuss the situation and make plans to find the remains of this abomination. Okay, anything else before we adjourn?”
Irenee tugged on Fergus’s sleeve, and he bent down to her. “Could you ask our team to stay for a minute? I forgot something I’d rather discuss with them alone. Oh, and Dad can stay, too.”
Irenee fidgeted until her team members were the only ones in the room. During the previous discussion, she’d thought about telling everybody, but the task was somehow too much to take on, exhausted as she was.
“Here’s the thing,” she said when all were settled again. “When I was about to open the safe in Alton’s study, a man picked the lock and came in. He could see right through my invisibility, and he asked why both the safe and I were glowing. I don’t know, however, if the safe radiance was from my discover spell or Alton’s protective ones.”
She related the events without mentioning her more personal reaction to him. What possible importance could it have to the larger problem? “Uncle Dylan said he’d find out who the man was after I left.”
“This guy specifically mentioned seeing a glow from the spells?” her father put in.
“Yes, but he didn’t say a word about magic.”
“What about evil? Was there any taint?” Glynnis asked.
“None I could identify. He certainly didn’t want Alton to know he’d been there, so I’m guessing he’s connected with law enforcement.”
“It would stand to reason,” John
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